Getting Started with Digital Accessibility

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This guide will help you take the first steps toward meeting the new ADA requirements. Accessibility is an ongoing process. Start with the biggest barriers first and improve your course over time. With the federal ADA Title II regulations taking effect in April 2026, accessibility for final exams has become a focal point. Specific guidance for final exams is available, although the steps remain largely the same as those outlined below.

1

Choose a course.

If you teach multiple courses, start with the one that has the largest number of students and/or is offered most often.

2

Run document accessibility checks.

If you are in Blackboard, run the Ally Accessibility Report. In your Blackboard course, go to Books & Tools and open the Accessibility Report. Ally will scan your course, identify common accessibility issues, and guide you through fixing them. We recommend to start with issues labeled Severe or Major, then work your way down. More information on using Ally can be found at the Blackboard Ally tutorial.

If you don’t use Blackboard, you can still check the accessibility of your documents using the checkers built into Microsoft and Adobe products.

3

Conduct quick manual checks.

Ally is a great starting point, but it cannot evaluate everything required by WCAG 2.1 AA. These items should also be reviewed:

  1. Do not use color alone to convey meaning (for example, “items in red are required”).
  2. Review or write alt text for accuracy and usefulness.
  3. Proofread captions for any videos used in the course.
  4. Use descriptive link text because link text should make sense when read on its own. 

4

Check accessibility of third-party content.

If you use third-party content (such as publisher materials, YouTube videos, websites, software or tools), check whether it is accessible. If you are unsure, contact the Delphi Center for help evaluating the content or identifying alternatives.

5

Use Delphi’s Course Content Checklist

The Delphi Center’s Accessibility Course Content Checklist covers additional issues to review.

6

Get support as needed.